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Hi there, Christoph Trappe here with the Authentic Storytelling Project, and today I want to talk about how content marketing helps people become experts. That’s something that we consistently hear about in the marketing world, content marketing world. Gurus, experts, etc. talk about that and I think what they really mean or what I mean when I talk about content marketing that involves experts, I mean that content marketing can help already established experts become wider known for their expertise.

So, content marketing doesn’t actually make somebody the expert. It just helps them share their message digitally online, on a blog, in an article, on their website, social media, you name it, whatever the next big thing will be, but they already are an expert.

The content marketing piece of it is not what makes them an expert. The content marketing pieces is what helps them become known a little wider than they perhaps might be known today.

So, for example, many people started learning about whatever they’re an expert in a long, long time ago. Sometimes before the Internet even started or before at least people started blogging and there were websites like there are today and that are easy to use.

So, you know, it can take decades to become an expert, but today in 2014 and beyond we know that people use the web to search for information, to connect with people and to find out what solutions exist for specific problems that they face.

That’s where content marketing that involves experts really can come in handy. So, you have these experts. They know what they’re talking about. They have the subject matter expertise, but then how do we take that expertise and move it into a content marketing project to help insure a wider capacity.

Why would they do that? Number one: They could connect with future customers. Now, content marketing projects take a long time to develop, not a week, not a month, a year at least and that means you have to really share valuable information for probably at least a year. That’s the organic side of things.

If you have paid campaigns running you can get those start a little quicker, but organic content marketing takes a little while to develop.

So, customers, future customers, why would we want them? Of course, we are usually looking for new customers even when you don’t need anymore customers, you can still use content marketing to connect with colleagues, to connect with others who might be interested in your services. You might learn that there’s a new niche in whatever your business is that is untapped and you might learn about that just by sharing your knowledge because somebody might respond.

It’s also helpful to connect with people who might advocate for you, who, now they know about you and now they might tell their friends about you. There’s a lot of mights in there because some of this is not as clear cut as it used to be.

For example, when we put a newspaper ad in the newspaper. Right? We’ll buy a full page ad. We’ll say, we’re now open for business. Here’s what we do. We’re the best there is et cetera, et cetera, but guess what even with the newspaper ad, there was no guarantee that even people were paying attention and a lot of times content marketing is actually cheaper than some of those very, very traditional ad campaigns like in the newspaper for example, but they do take time to develop.

So, once you share things publicly, people start knowing about you. People start connecting with you. They look at you as the expert. Now, granted, there’s probably a lot of people that already look at you as the expert in your field, but it’s offline, right and I’m not minimizing that there’s value to be known as the expert offline.

With content marketing the circle of connectivity is a lot smaller than it used to be offline. Nothing wrong with offline word of mouth marketing. It has worked for a long, long time and it continues to work, but when we take that offline component and also move it into the digital roam through blogging and social media, valuable content sharing that is when we can also connect with people that are not in our immediate vicinity.

I have connected with nonprofit executives across the nation through social media. I have connected with internet marketing, executives throughout the globe on social media, doctors, physicians, people I work with, I’ve connected with through social media.

It is a powerful tool to share what you know and to share it in a way that helps people connect with you.

Now, keep in mind, you don’t have to share everything that, that you know. In fact, that is probably too much information anyways. For true experts, you know so much we can truly simplify what it is that you’re trying to share.

It doesn’t have to be everything, shouldn’t be everything. Disclaimers are important. Disclaimers on www.myfitnesstips.org site where I share tips on how do you lose weight and how do you exercise and that sort of thing. I have a disclaimer. I say this is for informational purposes. This is from my perspective. I’m not a physician. This is not medical advice. This is not advice from a physical trainer. This is what has worked for me.

So, it is important to have some of those disclaimers and also make sure that, that they’re easily accessible for people visiting the site.

Then, finally, when we share things, we want to do it in a way that’s somewhat structured. Once a week, start once a week with an article, 300 to 600 to 800 words, doesn’t have to be any longer and share that.

If you don’t want to start writing because writing is a little harder than talking perhaps, maybe try a podcast. So, for example, I do a podcast here every once in a while. Sometimes, I write. Sometimes, I do a podcast. It all depends. I try to have a mix, but sometimes it really just depends. You know, if I’m sitting around somewhere I have time to write. If I feel like writing, I write. Sometimes, if it’s quiet and, you know, I can record a podcast. I do that. Then, I upload the podcast.

I sent the audio file to somebody on www.fiverr.com. That’s a site where you can buy services for $5 and people can subscribe ten minutes or 15-minute podcasts for $5. So, that’s pretty cheap and then I upload it and I use an app that uploads directly to my self-hosted WordPress site. So, something to keep in mind. It doesn’t have to take long. Pick the right tool. Pick the right medium and get started and again, remember content marketing is not what makes you an expert. Content marketing is what helps you become even wider known as the expert that you already are.

Thank you for listening. Christoph Trappe. The Authentic Storytelling Project.

Disclaimers:
The information provided in articles is for informational purposes only and not personalized advice. It's accurate to the best of my knowledge at the time it's published. Enjoy and best of luck telling the best stories in your organization and life!

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Hello and thanks for stopping by. I'm Christoph Trappe.
I've written two books, speak at conferences around the globe and blog frequently on here. I love sharing my stories and helping organizations share theirs.
If you need help, just visit the Contact Me page in the navigation and drop me a note. I'm always happy to chat!
Thanks for reading!
- Christoph
ctrappe@christophtrappe.com
319-389-9853

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